Class Notes

Submit Your Class Notes

Share what’s new and notable in your life with the rest of the Candler community. We report class notes in Connection and in our monthly e-newsletters. Send us your class notes and associated photographs via our online form: http://candler.emory.edu/submit-class-notes/

60s—80s

Laurence McCullough Jr. 63T has published Fools, Drunks, and Preachers, a chronicle of his life from the age of 18 until his retirement from United Methodist ministry at the age of 72.

Paul Alan Laughlin 71T 75G retired from his work as professor of religion and philosophy at Otterbein University after 33 years of teaching. He was awarded emeritus faculty status.

Roy R. Riggs 72T retired from the California-Pacific Annual Conference after 40 years of service to churches in Arizona and Southern California. He served as the Chairperson of the Annual Conference Commission on Equitable Compensation and as the President of the Conference Board of Trustees.

Randall B. Martin 73T is the new senior pastor of Broad Street United Methodist Church in Cleveland, Tenn.

Floyd Vernon Chandler 76T received a master of arts in international relations from the University of Oklahoma in May.

Walker Grady Carter III 86T is associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral science at Mercer University School of Medicine. He is also vice chair of the department of psychiatry and assistant dean for academic affairs.

Dennis Livingston 87T was appointed as Hutchinson District Superintendent of the Kansas West Conference of The United Methodist Church.

Henry C. Bass 88T was appointed as Valdosta District Superintendent of the South Georgia Conference of The United Methodist Church.

90s

Jim R. Cabaniss 91T was named chaplain of the General John B. Gordon Chapter of the Stars and Bars in Atlanta.

J. Andrew Bell 92T is the director of the Lakewood Methodist Counseling Center in St. Petersburg, Fla. and executive director of Sunshine State Interfaith Power & Light, which mobilizes faith communities to address the climate crisis and practice care of creation.

David Harris 92T was appointed executive director of The Conley Center for Care, Counseling, and Psychotherapy in Atlanta. He will continue with his psychotherapy practice at the center. He is also a recent past-president of the Georgia Career Development Association.

Pamela Feeser 94T published a book entitled Becoming: A Spiritual Journey. It was awarded second place at the 2012 New York Book Festival in the category of spirituality.

Russell D. Williams 94T is the director of the Brehm School Foundation. The foundation supports Brehm School and OPTIONS Transitions to Independence, which empower students with complex learning disabilities to recognize and achieve their full potential.

John Anderson Simmons III 96T was appointed senior pastor of St. James United Methodist Church in Atlanta. Simmons has served as Director of Ministerial Services in the North Georgia Annual Conference of The United Methodist Church since 2007.

Jefferson Otwell 97T was ordained to the priesthood by the archbishop ordinary of the Anglican Catholic Church's Diocese of the South on September 8 at St. Stephen's Pro-Cathedral in Athens, Georgia.

Kay S. Scarbrough 97T is serving as the Topeka District Superintendent in the Kansas East Conference of The United Methodist Church.

00s

Michael Turner 00T has accepted the position of associate professor of the history of Christianity at Hood Theological Seminary in Salisbury, N.C.

Richard M. Wright 01T has released a book entitled Help, I’m Lost! A Wanderer’s Guide to Salvation, which is now available through WestBow Press.

Christine Ortega Gaurkee 02T co-authored a book entitled All You Want to Know but Didn’t Think You Could Ask: Religions, Cults, and Popular Beliefs.

Jimmy R. Rock 03L 03T accepted a position as Assistant Attorney General for the District of Columbia.

Lara C. Byrd 04T is currently serving as a chaplain in the U.S. Navy at the Naval Submarine Station at Kings Bay, Ga.

Bocheol Chang 04T was recently appointed assistant professor of pastoral care and counseling at Busan Presbyterian University in Busan, Korea. He has also published two books: Life is Hope: Pastoral Care of the Suicidal and Pastoral Theological Understanding of Paul.

Andrew C. Smith 04T is now serving as the pastor of Holy Angels Catholic Church in Chicago. He also authored the book From the Gun to the Pulpit.

Paige Swaim-Presley 10T is the executive director and senior pastor at the Seashore Mission in the Mississippi Conference of The United Methodist Church.

Michael A. Mule 11T is a teacher in the religion department at Xavier High School in New York, N.Y.

Kevin Murriel 11T has been appointed the pastor of youth ministry at Cascade United Methodist Church in Atlanta.

Mary Sweet 11T was appointed as a licensed local pastor to the Harbor Springs charge in the Grand Traverse District of the West Michigan Conference of The United Methodist Church.

Israel Diaz 12T accepted a position at Archbishop Edward McCarthy High School as a theology teacher.

Christopher Girata 04T has been named the 21st rector of Calvary Episcopal Church in Memphis, Tenn. He previously served as associate rector at St. Luke’s in Birmingham, Ala., a parish with more than 3,000 members.

Christopher R. Harrington 08T and Emily Coulter Harrington 08T were married in February 2012, with a cast of Candler faculty participating: Brent Strawn officiated, Don Saliers played the organ and piano, and Joel LeMon played the trumpet. Chris is the lead pastor at Morningside Baptist Church in Atlanta, Ga. Emily teaches Christian education to middle school students and serves as the advancement assistant at Sophia Academy.

David Glassmire 09T recently completed a three-year recall to Active Duty serving with the 1st Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division as chaplain for Regimental Combat Team One in Helmand Province, Afghanistan. He is currently assigned as the pastor of Ascension Parish in Batavia, N.Y. His reserve assignment takes him to the San Francisco Bay area as the Deputy Pacific Area Chaplain to the U.S. Coast Guard, serving over 27,000 Coast Guard personnel and their families.